Egan says the most recent confirmed piece of tsunami debris to wash ashore on the Washington coast was a Japanese fishing skiff found on a Makah Reservation beach in May.

NOAA's Pacific Northwest marine debris coordinator said the most recent tsunami-related flotsam to arrive in Oregon was a gas cylinder picked up at Depoe Bay, also in May 2013.

"The tag on the cylinder afforded enough information for the Government of Japan to confirm that the cylinder originated in Japan, and was washed out to sea by the March 11, 2011 tsunami," said NOAA's Nir Barnea.